Last week, one of my daughter’s best friends asked for a home-made birthday gift. Out came the wood cutting tools, paint, carbon paper and such. The gift would be much like the one that I had crafted for Kate for Christmas yet on a much smaller scale. Six months has passed since she unwrapped the colorful Christmas paper on her door and walked into her new room for the first time. The room looks more lived in, but she still loves her special place. I had decided that in the three weeks before Santa’s big day, this elf would get to work on a Harry Potter dream bedroom for Kate. Time was short and I systematically moved through the many aspects of the room at all hours of the day. It was great fun making an old dresser from the free pile come to life as the pages of the Potter’s great story. I took old books and gave them a new purpose as a nightstand. The fun was in the details. Making quill pens, antiquing journals, searching for owls, making Honey Duke candy jars and creating a mandrake greenhouse were all part of the creative process. But this story wouldn’t have a happy ending if it weren’t for the creative people that helped make it happen. Every creative person has limitations. The sooner one figures this out, the sooner that the project will actually come to fruition. I called my friend Cindy and asked her for help with my biggest “Littlest Pet Shop “eyes that I could muster up. Poor thing, there is nothing like getting a call from one of your friends less than a month before Christmas asking for a mammoth favor. I mentioned the vision I had for bed and she took it so much further. Cindy got to work and created the most amazing piece of living art that I had ever seen. The colors of her work are rich and her ability to bring fiction to life in the most realistic way is hard to wrap your head around. I love how some of her most peaceful and serene paintings come to light while she works under the influence of heavy metal bands and David Grohl music. Pretty cool. I summoned the talents of my brother to cut signs so I could paint them into Potter store signage. Another true talent, he can make anything out of wood. Adding to the room, my father rewired an antique chandelier and made Kate a beautiful custom Nimbus broomstick of her own. Even Peter contributed his talents and fabricated his own clay golden snitch to be hung in case a game of Quittage was ever summoned. It all came together with a medieval tapestry from my childhood, an Oriental rug and pretend caldron lit in the fireplace. The final “Oooh La La” moment undoubtedly came on the final day of construction, when the bed was placed as the centerpiece of the room. On Christmas morning Kate and I collapsed on her cozy rug as I lay my head on the dog, exhausted from the effort while she looked inspired by what she saw around her. Somewhere in the preceding month I had discovered that you get virtually nowhere on your own. What you have to show for your efforts rarely reaches its potential without the help of others. The world is a virtual treasure trove of talent and creativity just waiting to be tapped and discovered. How lucky a girl my daughter is to have the inspiration of others around her. Thinking outside the box (and box stores) made her dream room possible. The room is filled with not one heart, but by those hearts that surround her and make her feel safe. With this in mind let’s remember that in this world, “that we as a whole are only as good as the sum of our parts.”
4 Comments
Susan Viccaro
8/6/2011 12:22:06 am
You continue to amaze me. Rachel and I were blown out of the water. What a beautiful, magical room!
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8/6/2011 04:18:47 am
Thanks for showing these photos. I always wondered what the whole thing looks like. It's magical!
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8/15/2011 11:54:09 am
Every kid should have a mother like you.
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Cindy Satton
8/21/2011 05:12:07 am
Thanks too, I loved the project. Room came out awesome. But u always put your all in for sure. And you're right, David Grohl DID help! It's so true...
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